The “mortally wounded” Jew who was shot at Joseph’s Tomb late Saturday night is no longer in mortal danger, hospital sources report. The family of Ben Yosef Livnat began sitting shiva, the traditional mourning period that was delayed by the Passover holiday, on Monday night.
Dr. Boaz Tadmor, Deputy Director of Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah, said this morning that the wounded victim in the terrorist incident “was operated on over the night, and his condition is now termed ‘serious.’ I am happy to report that his life is not in danger.” Another victim is listed in moderate condition, and two others were hurt lightly.
Palestinian Authority policemen fired on a group of worshipers who arrived to pray at the holy site, killing one and wounding four. The Jewish group did not coordinate its entry into the site in advance, but many Jews often arrive at the site in a similar “uncoordinated” manner; they say that the once-a-month authorized entry is not sufficient to meet Jewish worshipers’ needs.
In any event, the punishment for unauthorized entry to Joseph’s Tomb is not death, nor is it an act of war, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has called upon the PA to deal harshly for those responsible for what Defense Minister Ehud Barak called “murder.”
The names of the two above-mentioned victims, for prayer purposes, are Uriel ben [son of] Ahuva and Yitzchak ben Sheina Malkah. They are both 18 years old, from Tiberias and Jerusalem, respectively. “Both of them must recite the HaGomel blessing for having been saved from death,” Dr. Tadmor said. “The bullets missed vital organs by only centimeters. I hope that they will be able to return to their families speedily.”
The IDF. Israel Police and Shabak are continuing to investigate the shooting. The PA claims that the group did not abide by its men’s calls to stop, broke through a checkpoint, threw rocks at the PA policemen and tried to run one over. IDF sources stated that initial findings do not support these claims.
After the murderous attack, Arab vandals burned and damaged the holy site of Joseph's Tomb. The extent of the damage is not yet known. Despite the PA's consent to maintain and preserve the holy site, its citizens have damaged, burnt and vandalized the site several times.
25-year-old Ben Yosef Livnat, who was murdered in the attack, is survived by his wife, four children, parents, and two siblings. A grandson of Lechi fighter Azriel Livnat and nephew of Science and Culture Minister Limor Livnat, he was named for Shlomo Ben-Yosef, was the first Jewish fighter to be hanged by the British, in 1938.